A 28-year-old Isle man was charged with multiple counts of felony disseminating pornographic work involving a minor in Mille Lacs County.

Tyler Austin Pettit is charged with four felony counts of disseminating pornographic work involving a minor under the age of 14.

In an update video posted to Facebook on Sept. 19, Mille Lacs County Sheriff Kyle Burton informed the public that Pettit previously worked for the Mille Lacs County Sheriff’s Office as a reserve deputy.

Burton explained that a reserve deputy is someone who is not a sworn officer; they are a volunteer who helps with community and special events in the county. He said they go through an extensive background check and training process when they are hired.

When Burton was informed by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force of the allegations, he placed Pettit on administrative leave on June 5.

He then contacted the Isanti County Sheriff’s Office to conduct an investigation into the allegations. Burton said his office does not conduct investigations of its own deputies to avoid conflicts of interest.

After several months of investigation, on Sept. 17, a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Following the warrant being issued, Burton and other staff members went to Pettit’s residence, placed him under arrest and transported him to jail.

“I drove him to jail and I booked him in,” Burton said. “I felt that it was important that that come from me. That as the sheriff, I’m going to hold you accountable, especially if you are somebody who had previously represented this office and got involved in something like this.”

Pettit was booked into the Mille Lacs County Jail on Sept. 18. He is not currently in jail; his court documents show he posted a $20,000 bond with conditions on Sept. 19.

Pettit was appointed a public defender and is due back in Mille Lacs County District Court on Oct. 1.

Criminal charges

According to the criminal complaint, in May the Mille Lacs County Sheriff’s Office received a CyberTip report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children through the Minnesota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

The tip stated that on April 8, Snapchat reported that a customer uploaded and sent a video to another user through a private chat message. The video had content that was suspected to be child sexual abuse material.

The CyberTip was transferred to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The BCA sent subpoenas to Snapchat, Yahoo and Savage Communications. Account information identified the account holder as Tyler Austin Pettit.

An account recovery phone number from Savage Communications and Yahoo was reported along with a recovery email. The phone number matched the number that Pettit’s employer had on file for him. The information also uncovered an address in Isle in Mille Lacs County that is associated with Pettit.

On June 3, law enforcement reviewed the video uploaded to the ICAC system. The 8-second video showed multiple males and a preteen boy engaged in sexual acts.

Another search warrant was executed on Snapchat for content uploaded from Pettit’s username.

On June 17, law enforcement with the Isanti County Sheriff’s Office received the results of the Snapchat warrant. While examining the results, they found three more videos believed to contain child sexual abuse material that were uploaded to Snapchat and sent to another Snapchat user on April 8.

All three videos showed preteen boys engaged in sexual acts.

According to the complaint:

In the chat where he sent the three videos, Pettit tells the other person he is 13 years old. The other user said they were 14 years old. In the conversation, Pettit tells the user he is into younger people.

Other conversations revealed Pettit chatted with another individual who reported they were 11 and an additional individual who stated they were 14. In both instances, Pettit said he was also underage.

At some point in the investigation, Pettit consented to a search of his iPhone.

The search revealed URLs connected to pornographic sites that included individuals who appeared to be in their teens. Several photos were found that depicted juvenile boys between the ages of approximately 10 years old to adult.

In speaking with Pettit, he reported what social media accounts and email addresses he uses. Two of the reported email addresses had the same recovery phone number as the email address associated with the Snapchat account tied to the child sexual abuse material.

The complaint also noted that the state of Minnesota requested a warrant be issued because Pettit worked at a group home where juvenile individuals reside. Professional photos of some of those individuals were discovered on Pettit’s phone. Given the severity of the charges and because Pettit worked closely with juveniles, the state believed there was a substantial public safety risk.

A warrant was issued on Sept. 17, and Pettit was arrested and booked into Mille Lacs County Jail on Sept. 18.

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